Joanne Brandt honored for service to Wauconda

With her 20-year career as Wauconda's deputy village clerk having drawn to a close, Joanne Brandt was honored with a proclamation and a pair of standing ovations during Tuesday night's village board meeting.

Brandt, a lifelong resident of the Wauconda area, also received an engraved crystal vase from Mayor Frank Bart and the board as a way to say thanks for her years of service.

“You have left your indelible mark,” Bart told Brandt, reading the inscription. “We will miss your expertise and friendship.”

Before retiring last week, Brandt served six mayors as deputy clerk. She was known by co-workers and elected officials alike for having an encyclopedic knowledge of village history, regulations and policy.

“(She is) a phone book of knowledge,” administrative assistant Kim Carpenter told the Daily Herald. “And if she didn't know (something), she would find out.”

Trustee Lincoln Knight, the longest-serving board member, called Brandt an “absolute treasure.”

“She was always willing to help if you had a question,” Knight told the Daily Herald. “We're sorry to see her go.”

After receiving the vase and a framed copy of a proclamation Bart read aloud, Brandt shared a few words with the audience.

“It's been an honor working for the village for the last 20 years,” she said. “It's been a very interesting job. It was life changing for me.”